POLICE OFFICERS OATH OF OFFICE AND CODE OF ETHICS A QUESTION OF

POLICE OFFICERS OATH OF OFFICE AND CODE OF ETHICS A QUESTION OF free pdf ebook was written by Dtaylor on November 19, 2002 consist of 32 page(s). The pdf file is provided by www.emich.edu and available on pdfpedia since April 18, 2012.

police officers oath of office
and code of ethics
a question of..educating our officers on the code of ethics and the..deadly force, police corruption,
police pursuits and other popular police related...

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ABSTRACTTwo of the most neglected areas of police work are code of ethics and oathof office. These two documents are the most important issues of truth and integrity apolice department has with the community it serves. Most police agencies haveneglected these issues and do not fully understand the impact they have on thecommunity they serve.Studies have shown the distrust the public has with several differentprofessions, the police being one of these professions. In my research I surveyed asmall group of police officers that produced data supporting the publics’ fear ofdistrust.This problem can be corrected by the police departments doing a better jobof training and educating our officers on the Code of Ethics and the Police Oath ofoffice.ii

TABLE OFCONTENTS1. ABSTRACT .................................................................................................ii2. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................13. ETHICS DEFINE .........................................................................................34. DO WE REALLY KNOW WHAT OUR OATH MEANS ...........................65. PUBLIC TRUST IN THE POLICE..............................................................96. ADOPTING THE CODE OF ETHICS .......................................................117. SURVEY ON OATH AND ETHICS ...........................................................128. CONCLUSION.............................................................................................209. REFERENCE..............................................................................................2210. APPENDICESAPPENDIX A – The Constitution of the United States ................23APPENDIX B – The Constitution of the State of Michigan..........24APPENDIX C – Deputy Sheriff Oath of Office..............................25APPENDIX D – District Court Judge Oath of Office....................26APPENDIX E – Law Enforcement Code Of Ethics......................27APPENDIX F – Police Officer Survey Questions .........................28APPENDIX G – First Ten Amendments to Constitution..............29iii

INTRODUCTIONThere are many issues facing today's police officer and police supervisor.Some include the police use of excessive force, deadly force, police corruption,police pursuits and other popular police related topics. While all of these haveproblem areas, there are two police topics that touch on all the above issues, policeoath of office and the code of ethics.Today’s police officer is working in an era where the public's opinion of thepolice is influenced by the negative stories they read in the media, as in the RodneyKing and Malice Green cases. On top of all the media influence of policemisconduct, is the public’s view of all the misconduct by our political leaders.The public is concerned over its own ethics and morality because it has notrust in its leaders. I will cover this issue in the chapter on "Public trust in the Police."There has never been another time when police officers and political leaders wereviewed by the public with as much distrust. There has also never been a greaterneed for the police to understand their oath of office and to be trained in ethicaldecision making as well as ethical behavior.In this paper I will show how the police officer doesn't understand hisresponsibility and commitment to his police oath of office and in turn his code ofethics. To accomplish this I have given a survey to several Law EnforcementOfficers of all levels and agencies. Clearly the survey shows police officers do notunderstand that the oath of office they take is one of the most important statementsmade in their career. I will also discuss the current state of police ethics, both fromthe police oath and from my own police experience.1

Before beginning a discussion on the police oath of office and code of ethics,both must be defined. There is very little written on the police officer oath of office. Iwas forced to look to the political area on oaths and identified the origin from theUnited States Constitutional and Michigan Constitution.The oath of office and police ethics discussed in this paper is looked at asone in the same. Police ethics is an issue of how to behave. The oath is a sworncommitment to act in an ethical manner. You can't have one without the other beingaffected.2

ETHICS DEFINEDEthics has many definitions and philosophers of ethics have defined it severalways. My understanding of ethics is in the belief in God and the drive that peoplehave to please God by doing good for others. As a parent I have told my childrenthat they are not put on this earth to please themselves, but to make other peopleslives better. When my children finally understood this they become mature, caringadults. A Duch philosopher, Benedict De Spenoza said,"Because God is infinite and the creator of all, understanding God is the mostimportant goal in life. Those who understand God will desire good for othersand behave ethically toward them.”(Spenoza, 1995).This one statement sums up the duties of a police officer, to serve others andprotect from evil. With this in mind, ethics means to do good or to do right.Definitions of ethical behavior vary from generation to generation and fromculture to culture. Generally ethical behavior includes the following qualities; honesty,integrity, fairness, loyalty, kindness, courage generosity, compassion, doing good,doing right, and unselfishness. When people display these qualities, they arebehaving ethically.In my readings on ethics I have found there are three areas that havetraditionally influenced people to do right or behave ethically, the family, religion, andgovernment. The family is the first social organization that children belong to and theone from which they receive their first and most important lessons on ethicallybehavior. Teaching our sons and daughters to do good for others by how the family3

lives, is without a doubt the most influencing of the three. Religion also motivatespeople toward ethical behavior. All religions focus on moral ethical beliefs andcodes of conduct in their traditions. The third influence on ethical behavior isgovernment and its laws. Many people need the constraint of laws to behave legallyand ethically. Others obey laws out of a moral duty to conform to societies' rules.Family, religion and government have traditionally been powerful motivatingforces for ethical behavior for all of us, but lets look at the area of ethical behavior inpolice officers. The following definitions are those most commonly used duringethics training for police officers:Ethics is a code of values that guides our choices and actions anddetermines the purpose and course of our lives. Ethics is not a written codeor credo, it is about what we do. (Southwestern Law Enforcement Institute,1995).Michael JosephsonEthical behavior is a standard of conduct when dealing with others thatreflects a public trust attached to a police officer.Michigan Commission on LawEnforcement Standards (1998)Ethical concerns the study of right and wrong, duty, responsibility andpersonal character. Ethics is concerned with moral duty, what is morally rightand wrong, etc..Close and Meier (1995)Police officers must be held to a higher standard of moral and ethical valuesthen is expected of the average person. Police officers need the trust and respect ofthe public to perform their duties and responsibilities effectively. This trust does notcome without the officer knowing and understanding his sworn oath and code of4

ethics.5

DO WE REALLY KNOW THAT OUR OATH MEANS?All police officers throughout this country must take a sworn oath before theyare authorized to perform the duties of a law enforcement officer. Is this oath asuperficial statement made by our police officers without any understanding of whatthey are swearing to? Do they really know what the oath requires of them? I thinkmost police officers as well as politicians are just reading the words without anyunderstanding. The oath holds curtain major responsibilities and obligations that theaverage citizen or businessperson does not have. Before I discuss the oath I willpoint to its origin and attempt to define it.In America the police officer's oath originates within the United StatesConstitution (Appendix A). The title of executive officers mentioned in the constitutionrefers to police officers working under the executive branch of the government. In theUnited States Constitution under Article IV it states:“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members ofthe several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both ofthe United States and the several States, shall be bound by Oath orAffirmation, to support this Constitution..."(U. S. Constitution 1787)The State of Michigan also covers language requiring an oath of officebefore entering upon the duties of a police officer. Article XI, sec.1 in theConstitution of the State of Michigan (Appendix B), states;"All officers, legislative, executive and judicial, before entering upon the dutiesof their respective officers, shall take and subscribe the following oath oraffirmation: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution6

of the United States and the constitution of this state, and that I will faithfullydischarge the duties of the office of ______ according to the best of myability..."(Constitution of the State of Michigan 1835)I am very aware of my oath of office, mainly because I must take it every four yearsafter the new sheriff has been elected to his office. My oath follows the samewording as that of both the Constitution of the State of Michigan and the UnitedStates Constitution. (Appendix C). I have also attached a copy of a local DistrictCourt Judges oath for comparison (Appendix E).It is quit clear that both the U. S. Constitution and the Michigan Constitutionhold police officers and politicians accountable for their actions. If the oath is suchan important word and referred to in both Constitutions, it is our job to know andunderstand what this word means.The American Dictionary of the English Language, define an oath as:"A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with an appeal to God for truth ofwhat is affirmed. The appeal to God in an oath, implies that the personimprecates his vengeance and renounces his favor if the declaration is false,or if the declaration is a promise, the person invokes the vengeance of God ifhe should fail to fulfill it. A false oath is called perjury."(Webster Dictionary 1828)We should also define the Oath further, concerning how we administer it. Inmy twenty-two years as a deputy sheriff and appointed by the Sheriff five separatetimes, I have always raised my right hand and "solemnly swore" to up hold theconstitution. When defining solemnly we look to corporal. Black's Law Dictionarydefines solemnly as:"Corporal oath is one taken by the form of laying the hand on or kissing a7

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